Legislators sponsor anti-fraud law annuity Brian Neill The Bradenton Herald, Fla. McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
18 February - With the aging of the population of Florida in mind, two members have spearheaded an initiative that would make penalties more severe for annuity sellers who defraud their customers.

State Senator Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, and state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, were in Tallahassee on Tuesday to announce the bi-partisan legislation that would make the practice of "twisting" a crime of the third degree.

Twisting is when an officer falsely inflate a client and converts the value of pensions in a single policy with a company to generate a commission.

The bill also includes other provisions to protect consumers against unscrupulous practices of the annuity industry.

Annuities are insurance contracts that offer a guaranteed series of payments over a period of time. Seniors May consider buying an "immediate" annuity payments immediately distributing or opt for a "report" annuity, which accumulates savings over a period of time before payments begin to be paid.

Part of the initiative for the bill arose from complaints about the pension fraud that have flocked to the office of Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.

Sink's office said complaints have quadrupled over the past three years and that his department has opened 474 investigations of fraud involving the elderly. Approximately 70 percent of these cases relate to pensions and life insurance operations, said his office.

One case involved a 81-year-old Port Richey woman whose agent annuity converted into a single policy to generate a commission of $ 52,000 for himself. The transaction would have spent $ 300,000 of the woman's life savings, if the authorities had not intervened, according to the Office of wells.

Last fall, the backup created Sink seniors Our team of experts to recommend ways to protect seniors from financial fraud.

Fitzgerald said the legislation is not a reflection on the annuity, the entire industry, but it seeks to target agents who take advantage of non-customers.

"Some annuities in May would be a good idea for a 30 years old, but if you can not withdraw money out of it for 20 years, it is probably not a good idea for 80 years for the buy, "said Fitzgerald. "So these are the kinds of abuses that are in place."

Bennett said the bill seeks to put more teeth in existing laws.

"Last year we passed legislation that sought to place greater emphasis on the amount of pension fraud that happens in our country and it does not seem to have a cooling effect on the vendors that we had hoped, "says Bennett. "So now we are going to place the bar for a crime and we will ensure that our seniors are protected."

Other provisions of the bill include:

n Limiting the period of charge of the surrender of an annuity sold to a consumer five years senior and surrender charge of 5 per cent.

n Extending the period of "trial" for the purchase of an annuity by a senior consumer of 14 to 60 days. Generally, the trial period only covers 10 days and allows a purchaser of an annuity to cancel the contract within that period without paying a surrender charge.

n authorizing the Florida Department of Financial Services to require an agent to make monetary restitution to a senior consumer that they are wrong.

n prohibit the department from issuing a license to a former licensee who has had his license revoked due to the solicitation or sale of an insurance product to a high consumer.

n Require an insurer to provide a sheet attached to the policy of a pension when the information is delivered to the buyer on the trial period and how to contact the insurer and the Department if they questions about the pension.

To learn more about the SOS Task Force or what to consider when purchasing annuities, visit www.FLSeniors.net. May Senior Floridians who believe they were victims of fraud annuity should call (877) 693-5236 or log on to www.MyFloridaCFO.com to file a complaint.